Warning means for safety discharge outlets



Jan. 1, 1952 HE, HE1G|S 2,580,426

WARNING MEANS FOR SAFETY DISCHARGE OUTLETS Filed NOV. 16, 1949 N lINVENTOR.

w TTORNEY vPatented Jan. 1, 1952 cialties'"Development Cor'poi'ati'on,'Belleville,

f f NQ'JQ ai corporation offNevv' Jersey .enplietion.Nvvember--la194.9.. .Serial-Nmlis l resent inver;M0114A relates. w valves. and imediuni`-under pressurel and, tolwarning means. for safety associated`with slichyalves, and

' nienke." 1. 5

Metallic'receptacles, such as cylinders and the lill/ge forstoring.normalllgaseous material in quen'ed s condition underV yrelatively ty dischargeffmeans l' including al ldisc b` hen, thepressure` within the `a.`...saf..value. such Van arnn'gcommunicationwitli the irl--A nder' and surrounded `by assai,` .he seatfnrwlrisine` the. opening., `screwthreadedly secured to the` berAisfQrnied vvithrradially extending ar epassagesifor releasing thepress-` fthecylinder in the event the safety disc whereby lthe member,when dis,- the; valve body, may .be4 projected r and may cause personalinjuryor In addition.Y when the pressuddenly released dueto removal disc'retainenj the cylinder recoils ay lbe converted into a.A jet-like pro.-

` con Vins(pressure`mediurn'when an' attempt is i strated in UnitedStates Patent" generally comprises a sarety;

,d for retaining'tne dise on the sean 1 vr nl the cylinder andminimizing,

'et'. of; vthe,dimculties heretofore encountered ifeguentlyf attemptsare made to remove.Y xnernpei;ndiileithe cylinder contains.

sacefvvitli great force by pressure'withdimewersinsseimeiaedriseesrsmtainerA meansmay` be; `1n the form of a, cap-like` lemloodimentnof `theinvention.

vleims- (CL 11G-.10)

familiar withthe dangers involved that a: cylinder contains pressure'medium and which; likewise` serve to. frighten persons tamlgieringAwith the safetyfdischarg'e means into abandoning removal oftheretainerand r'eapplying the4 same.

Other andi furtherl objects of4 the invention willlbe obvious upon anAunderstanding 0f. the. illustrative embodiment about. to be. describedyor Will'be indicated injthe yappended claims,v`and various advantagesnot]` referred to herein will ,occur to one skilled in, the art upon:employment of'ftlie inventionin practice.

In accordance with` the invention, the @regoing objectsmay beaccomplished by providing safety'disoharge outletA means` formed withVan` `openingfand a seat surrounding the opening a safety disc onthexseat' for closing the opening;

and means removably secured to the outlet means for` retaining the discon the seat, .onefof the means having passageway extending from the seattofthe exterior thereof` for4v permitting fljuidj Amedium connedjby the,disc' to escape therethrough and to serve as a. warning vent whenanattempt is made to remove the'retainer means while pressure medium isconfined by thedisc.

In` one embodiment of the inventorn the` re,`

memberhaving a"ski1t"whi ch`v is formed jwitl the` passageway; andA issecuredy over" a. discharge out.-

let nipple., i

AInfanotgherhembodiment of the inventlom the likegr'nember' securedWithin a safety discharge outlet spud vvhiclr` is formed" `.with thepassage- Way; 4 Y,

In Vthe drawing:

Figure 1 is` an elevational view,- partly in sectin, 'of'favalve,illus'trating oneembodiment of thefjnvention. '4

Fig-nre 2- is a similar view; illustrating another Referring tofthedrawing, and; more particularly; tol Figure 1J thereof; 'there isfshovvnY a valve I,..by way of:V exampleyforal container Ilor the like(shown in broken lines) adapted.` for stor- `ingfluidmedium.underpressure. The valve generailyzcomprises;agbody I2formed with an inlet I4 secured to;I theucontainenen outlet .151 and a;

stese-.the nietmaounauwmen n mnsuombecause it is not deemed essential-inunderstanding the present invention; and means, such as a hand wheel l1,for operating elements of the internal structure to control the releaseof uid medium from the container.

The nipple I6 is exteriorly threaded at i9 and is formed with an axiallyextending bore or opening 20 surrounded by an annular surface 2l servingas a seat for a safety discharge disc 22 adapted to close the opening20. Preferably, the seat includes a gasket or Washer 24 adapted toprovide a fluid pressure tight seal between the surface 2| and the disc22.

The disc 22 is held on its seat by a retainer member 25 herein shown asa cap-like structure comprising an end wall 26, an interiorly threadedskirt 2l removably secured over the nipple I6, an annular internalshoulder 29 for holding the disc on its seat, and conventional radialports 30 for releasing pressure medium from the cylinder and minimizingrecoil or lateral reaction of the cylinder in the event the safety discbursts.

In order to provide warning means adapted to indicate that the cylindercontains pressure medium, when an attempt is made to remove the retainermember 25 from the nipple I6, the member 25 is formed with a passagewayextending from the seat to the atmosphere, that is, to the exterior ofthe member 25. This passageway includes one or more apertures 3l (onebeing shown by way of example) extending radially outwardly through theskirt 2l from a point adjacent the seat or between the seat and theshoulder 29 to the exterior, whereby, when the retainer member 25 isunscrewed slightly, pressure medium confined by the disc 22 is adaptedto escape through the aperture to produce an audible warning.

Such awarning to a skilled person indicates that the cylinder stillcontains pressure medium. The cylinder should then be weighed todetermine the exact content of pressure medium, which if not sufcient towarrant salvaging, may be released by opening the valve. The retainermay then be safely removed. In the event a careless or curious personperceives the warning, such person will be frightened into abandoningthe attempt to unscrew the disc retainer or will be urged to screw thedisc retainer in place again lest his tampering be detected.

In Figure 2, a valve is shown which is similar to the valve l shown inFigure 1, except that the safety discharge means are in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the safety discharge means includes a spud 34 formedon the valve body l2. The spud has an interiorly threaded bore 35 and anannular shoulder 33 within the bore which, together with a gasket orWasher 24, provides a seat for a safety disc 22 adapted to be heldthereon by a retainer member 36.

The retainer member 36 is in the form of a. hollow plug-like structurecomprising an end wall 31, an outer flange-like section 39 formed with aplurality of radial recoil minimizing ports 40, and an innerthreadedsection 4I screwed into the bore of the spud and having anannular inner end surface 42 for engaging the disc 22 to hold the sameon its seat.

The warning means in this embodiment of the invention are provided by apassageway extending from the seat to the exterior of the spud whichincludes one or more apertures 44 extending radially outwardly throughthe wall of the spud from the bore thereof at a point adjacent forclosing said opening, and means removably` secured to said outlet meansfor normally retain-"l the seat from the disc 22 to the exterior of thespud.

When the retainer member 36 is unscrewed slightly, pressure mediumconned by the disc 22 is adapted to escape through the aperture 44 toproduce an audible warning as described in connection with theembodiment ofthe invention illustrated in Figure 1.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the presentinvention provides a simple, practical and eiective warning means forsafety discharge outlets associated with valves, control heads, fittingsand the like. The warning means can be provided without materialincrease in cost of the devices to which they are applied, simply by theformation of an aperture 3| or 44 properly located with respect to theseat for the safety disc 22.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is tobe interpreted as illustrativeand not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a valve or the like for fluid medium under'- pressure, thecombination of safety discharge butlet means formed with an opening anda seat sur-* rounding said opening, a safety disc on said 'seat ing saiddisc on said seat to form a pressure-tight 5 seal, one oi said meanshaving a passageway ex"- tending from said seat to the 'exterior thereoffor permitting fluid medium confined by said'disc"- to escapetherethrough and to` serve as Ya warn'l` ing vent only when an attemptis made to remove said disc retaining means while pressure medium isconned by said disc whereby the seal is broken."A

2. In a valve or the like for fluid medium under," pressure, thecombination of safety discharge Outonly when an attempt is made toremove said retaining means while pressure medium is confined by saiddisc whereby the seal is brokenlfv 3. In a valve or the like for fluidmedium under pressure, the combination of safety discharge outlet meanshaving a tubular section formed withA an opening and a seat surroundingsaid`openi'ng, a safety disc on said seat for closing said opening,

and means having a tubular section removably secured to said firstmentioned tubular sectionin telesc'oping relation and having Va'surfacefor no'- mally retaining said disc on said seat to formA apressure-tight seal, one of said means having an aperture extendingradially through the tubular section thereof from a point adjacentVsaidsirface to the exterior thereof for permitting'fiuid mediumconfined by said disc to escape thjeret'hroughand to serve as a warningvent only when an alal tempt is made to remove said discretainingmeans,f while pressure medium is confined by said disc,n

whereby thefs'eal is broken. l Y.

4, in a valve cr the' like for nuid medium un er pressure. thecombination 'of safety discutirse-Buti let means including a nippleformed with an opening and a seat surrounding said opening, a safetydisc on said seat for closing said opening, and a cap-like structureremovably secured over said nipple for normally retaining said disc onsaid seat to form a pressure-tight seal, said structure having anaperture extending outwardly therethrough from a point adjacent saidseat to the exterior thereof for permitting uid medium conned by saiddisc to escape therethrough and to serve as a warning vent only when anattempt is made to remove said structure while pressure medium isconfined by said disc whereby the seal is broken.

5, In a valve or the like for fluid medium under pressure, thecombination of safety discharge outlet means including a tubular nippleformed with an opening and a seat surrounding said opening, a safetydisc on said seat for closing said opening, and a cap-like structurehaving a tubular section removably secured over said nipple and having asurface at the interior thereof for normally retaining said disc on saidseat to form a pressuretight seal, said tubular section having anaperture extending radially outwardly therethrough from a point betweensaid surface and said seat to the exterior thereof for permitting fluidmedium conned by said disc to escape therethrough and to serve as awarning vent only when an attempt is made to remove said structure Whilepressure medium is conned by said disc whereby the seal is broken..

6. In a valve or the like for fluid medium under pressure, thecombination of safety discharge outlet means including a Spud formedwitha threaded opening and a seat within said opening, a safety disc on saidseat for closing said opening, and a plug-like structure removablysecured in said opening and normally retaining said disc on said seat toform a pressure-tight seal, said Spud having an aperture extendingradially outwardly therethrough from a point adjacent said seat to theexterior thereof for permitting fluid medium confined by said disc toescape therethrough and to serve as a warning vent only when an attemptis made to remove said structure while pressure f medium is confined bysaid disc whereby lthe seal is broken.

HENRY E. HEIGIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 568,680 Henderson Sept. 29, 18961,068,675 Lightfoot July 29, 1913 2,106,176 Huffman et al. Jan. 25, 19382,414,113 Mapes Jan. 14, 1947 2,521,773 Bierman Sept. 12, 1950

